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Ouachita Baptist (8-2, 4-1 GAC) at SWOSU (7-4, 1-3 GAC) Thursday, January 8, 7:30 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Listen Live  |  Watch Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Stage
- Bulldog basketball looks to even their Great American Conference record on Thursday when they host Ouachita Baptist, a team currently tied atop the GAC standings
- SWOSU has won two straight games, including a 61-60 win at Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday that improved SWOSU to 2-3 in conference play
- The Bulldogs have now won three games by one point this season, including two conference wins in thrilling fashion
- Although SWOSU is 2-3 in league play, the Bulldogs have played just one conference game on their home court, a 74-65 defeat against Southern Nazarene on December 13
- With an overall record of 8-4, SWOSU has the third-best winning percentage (.667) of conference teams to date
 
The Opponent
Ouachita Baptist (8-2, 4-1 GAC)
- Winners of three straight games, all conference home games, to pull into a tie with East Central atop the Great American Conference standings
- Lone conference loss was a 75-59 setback at Southern Arkansas in early December
- Top scoring team in the GAC, averaging 81.5 points per game and outscoring their opponents by more than 12 points per contest
- One of the top shooting teams in the conference, ranking third in the GAC in field goal percentage (46.9%), third in three-point percentage (37.4%), and second in free throw percentage (75.1%)
- Tirrell Brown leads the team and ranks second in the GAC in scoring with an average of 18.6 points per game while shooting an NCAA Division II-leading 75.0% from the field
- Colt Fason and Justin McCleary both average 12.9 points per game while Fason is ranked fifth in the GAC in rebounding with an average of 8.1 per game
- Have two players, Micah Delph and Jerron Smith, leading the GAC in free throw shooting by shooting better than 89% from the stripe
- Averaging 9.0 steals per game to lead the GAC and they have a turnover margin of +5.6 which is by far the best in the conference
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Bob Battisti (25-14, 2nd season; 434-310 career, 26th season)
- Bob Battisti was named the 14th head men's basketball coach in SWOSU history prior to last season after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian University
- Battisti led the Bulldogs to a 17-10 record in his first season, marking a five-win improvement from the previous season
- Three players earned All-GAC distinction in Battisti's first season at SWOSU, including GAC Player of the Year Rod Camphor and Defensive Player of the Year Michael Bradley
- SWOSU committed the fewest turnovers in NCAA Division II in Battisti's first season with 243, an average of just 9.0 per game
- Previously spent 25 years at Northwestern Oklahoma State, coaching the men's basketball team for 21 seasons before taking over as the school's athletic director
- In 25 years as a head coach, Battisti has a career record of 434-310 (.583)
 
Dennis Nutt (50-43, 4th season)
- In his fourth season as the head coach at Ouachita Baptist, where he has led the Tigers to 50 wins and the GAC Tournament Championship in 2013
- Has coached four All-GAC selections and five GAC All-Tournament selections, including Colt Fason, the 2013 GAC Tournament MVP
- Served as the head coach at Texas State University from 2000-06, accumulating a record of 72-96
- Also been an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina, Arkansas State and Westark Community College and worked as an NBA scout for the Charlotte Bobcats
 
Last Time Out
- Jordan Franz emerged as the hero for SWOSU off the bench, scoring five points in the final 48 seconds, including two free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining, to lift SWOSU past Southeastern 61-60 on Saturday
- The Bulldogs built a 13-point lead early in the second half before Southeastern rallied back and took the lead in the final minute
- Martell Collins led SWOSU with 15 points while Trent Washington added 12 and Kenyan Borders scored 10
- Borders dished out a game-high seven assists, including a crucial one to Franz on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 48 seconds left
- Collins finished one rebound shy of recording a second consecutive double-double
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU moved into a tie with Southeastern for eighth in the standings after defeating the Savage Storm on Saturday in Durant
- The Bulldogs are one-half game behind a trio of teams (SNU, HSU & Harding) that are an even 3-3 in league play
- Ouachita Baptist is tied atop the standings with East Central at 4-1, one-half game ahead of Southern Arkansas, SWOSU's opponent on Saturday
 
SWOSU Notes
- Martell Collins became the second Bulldog to earn GAC Player of the Week honors this season after averaging a double-double last week in wins over USAO and Southeastern
- Collins now leads the GAC with five double-doubles on the year and he's the only player in the conference ranked in the top five in both scoring (4th, 17.5) and rebounding (3rd, 8.4)
- Collins joins Kenyan Borders in earning the GAC weekly honor after Borders earned the nod back on December 8
- SWOSU has turned the ball over 113 times in 12 games for an average of 9.4/game, a number that ranks as the third-fewest in NCAA Division II
- The Bulldogs continue to lead the GAC in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 66.0 points per game while scoring 68.0 points per contest to rank 10th in the league in scoring offense
- After recording six DNPs in the first eight games, Jordan Franz has seen action in each of the last four games and scored four points per game over the past two outings
- Trent Washington scored right at his average of 12.2 points per game on Saturday at Southeastern and he continues to rank as SWOSU's second-leading scorer
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU is right back at home on Saturday, hosting Southern Arkansas at 3:00 pm in the Pioneer Cellular Event Center